Trembley, Mallee join Porter's coaching staff

Trembley, Mallee join Porter's coaching staff

The Astros on Friday named the first four members of the 2013 coaching staff that will work alongside new manager Bo Porter.

Houston announced two new coaches -- John Mallee as the club's hitting coach and Dave Trembley as a coach -- and retained two others, Doug Brocail (pitching coach) and Dave Clark (last year's third base coach). The exact duties for Trembley and Clark have not yet been announced.

"A manager is only as good as his coaching staff and I'm confident these four will contribute to a terrific staff that can help us accomplish our goals," said Porter, who was hired on Sept. 27. "I played for Dave Trembley and I worked with John Mallee in the past. Doug Brocail and Dave Clark are excellent coaches, who will provide the continuity to the past. These members of our staff give us our best chance to win ballgames and develop winning players."

Mallee, 43, brings 17 seasons of professional baseball experience to Houston. He has spent the majority of those years focused on hitting, most recently as the Marlins' hitting coach in 2010-11. Prior to that, he had spent eight years as the Marlins' Minor League hitting coordinator.

As for Trembley, he spent the last two seasons as the Minor League field coordinator for the Braves. He also spent four years as the Orioles' manager (2007-10) and has a long history of managing in the Minor Leagues that includes farm league stints with the Pirates (1987-89), Padres (1991-93), Cubs (1994-2002) and Orioles (2003-06).

Clark has been a member of the Astros' organization since 2005 and has spent each of the last four seasons as the club's third base coach. Brocail, meanwhile, just finished his first full season as the Astros pitching coach, after initially taking the job on an interim basis on June 14, 2011.

"We strive to have the best coaching staff in baseball to teach and develop our players and to instill a winning mindset for our club," said general manager Jeff Luhnow. "This is an exceptional group of individuals with varied experiences and proven track records in coaching at the highest levels."

Paul Casella is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @paul_casella. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.